by all means, lead the way
by grossly-sweet
Summary: Natasha takes Daisy home for Christmas.


**Author's ramble: so, this is officially a Christmas fic but it is finished only now so why not share it with the world. It is AU and post-Age of Ultron.. And let's say it takes place in the season three winter hiatus. Also, huge thank you and shootout to VanillaAshes who beta'd this story and helped with the writing and things.**

 **The title is a combination of the first line of this story and the Hamilton song 'Satisfied' stuck in my head all day.**

 **o0o**

 _Where are you taking me?  
\- I'm about to change your life.  
Then by all means, lead the way._

 **o0o**

"Where are you taking me," Daisy asked for what might be the hundredth time, each time her tone a bit more whiney. She popped her feet on the dashboard of the car and sunk down a little more in her chair, looking expectantly at her girlfriend in the drivers seat.

Natasha just grinned as a reply, not making any verbal response.

They had already been in the car for nearly four hours, something which other people might see as some ultimate test. Daisy just had loads of fun. Natasha seemed to get more relaxed the longer they were driving too, over the months Daisy had gotten to see more and more of the softer side of the Black Widow but this little road trip to god knows where seemed to loosen her up even more. And Daisy loved it.

"How long till we're there then?" Daisy tried. She leaned over to the back seat to grab something from their food stash. "No chocolate for you until you tell me something about our destination," Daisy mock-threatened, stuffing her mouth full with sweets.

Natasha smirked knowingly for a few moments before speaking. "You know I can take that from you and still keep driving, right?"

Daisy scoffed, even though she knew Natasha was probably right. "I'd like to see you try." Which was true, she'd like to see it but honestly would rather see those tactics tested on someone else. She wasn't feeling for broken limbs.

"No, you don't," Natasha replied casually.

Daisy pouted for a split second and before promptly planting a kiss on her cheek.

Natasha turned her head and captured Daisy's lips with her own, she immediately melted into the kiss.

Daisy suddenly pulled away. "Eyes on the road!" she called out. "I'm too young to die."

Natasha smiled, almost laughing before she ran a hand over Daisy's thigh. "We'll be fine; superspy remember?"

Daisy leaned against Natasha's shoulder, savouring the moment. "Sure." After a moment of blissful silence Daisy asked casually, "hey, where were we going again?"

Natasha's lips pressed a kiss to the side of her head. "Someplace special," she answered. "Twenty more minutes," she added.

Daisy tilted her head and looked at the assassin. That was one typical cryptic answer.

Approximately twenty minutes later Natasha pulled up to a farm, with white picket fences and a swing set in the garden. Of all the things Daisy had been expecting; this was not one of them. Her head had been swirling with theories when Natasha had told her to take Christmas off because of special Christmas plans. However, she had been excited ever since.

"We're here," Natasha gestured. Yes, Daisy got that. But that was about all she got.

"Where is here, exactly?" Daisy asked suspiciously. "Do you have some sister or family that I don't know about? Is this one of these surprise meet-the-parents scenarios so that I can't get out of it?" Daisy looked slightly panicked. How long had they been dating? Daisy had never made it past the meet-the-parents stage before. Also, she had a bad track record when it came to families. She had a bad track record when it came to a lot of things but if she'd list them too she might run.

"If it was, I'm sure you'd do great," Natasha assured her girlfriend. There was a glint of something in the assassin's eyes that Daisy could not determine. Did Natasha have a family?

The hacker realised she had never asked, just assumed that there were no siblings. Daisy was quite sure Natasha was orphaned right before she, involuntarily, joined the KGB. "I never asked, did I?" she questioned, finally meeting Natasha's eyes. "I'm so sorry, I just-"

That was when Natasha cut off her sentence by grabbing Daisy's hands. "You can make it up to me by coming inside."

During Daisy's freak out Natasha had made her way around the car and was now on Daisy's side with two bags over her shoulder, tugging her girlfriend out of the car and pulling the woman in for a kiss. When Natasha started making her way to the farm Daisy followed reluctantly, not letting go of Nat's hand. The only sound was the snow crunching under their feet.

As they got closer to the house the faint sound of Christmas music and laughter joined, and a bright smile appeared on Natasha's face. "I never picked you for the Christmas clichés loving type," Daisy commented.

"Everyone loves Christmas, you just don't know it until you've celebrated it right," Natasha answered vaguely.

Daisy wasn't expecting Natasha to produce a key from her pocket and open the door. "I present to you, the Barton Household," she said solemnly before pushing the door open.

"The _what_ now?" Daisy was stunned for a moment. Sure, Daisy was aware that Natasha's best friend didn't live in the Avengers tower, or anywhere else Avengers or S.H.I.E.L.D. related. And of course he had to live somewhere. A farm in the middle of nowhere, though? That was unexpected.

The assassin hung her coat and Daisy let go of her hand and did the same. "We're here," Natasha announced their presence. There was an immediate response of running feet, on instinct Daisy hid herself half behind Tasha. The last one swooped the two approaching kids up in a hug while the little ones chanted 'auntie Nat!"

Admittedly, Daisy's heart melted as she watched the exchange. The little girl was chatting excitedly about something that had happened at school, while the boy eyed the other grown up. "Who are you?" he asked.

Daisy smiled, kids she could handle. "I'm Daisy, who are you?"

The kid shook Daisy's extended hand wildly and said "I'm Cooper!" Daisy grinned and greeted the boy. "And that's my sister, Lila," Cooper continued his introductions. "And that's my mommy."

Daisy's head shot up and she noticed the woman the standing in the doorway. "H-hello," she managed to politely get out.

In that moment Natasha got up from her conversation with Lila and hugged the woman. "Laura, good to see you." And Daisy was thankful that she was shielded from the woman's view for a bit. However, the woman was not fooled by any diversion tactics.

"You finally brought Daisy along," was her answer to Natasha.

Daisy stood there, extremely uncomfortable. When the hug ended, Laura ignored Daisy's half extended hand and instead wrapped her up in a hug too. "So nice to finally meet you, I've heard so much about her." Over Laura's shoulder Daisy shot Natasha a look, the woman in question smiled innocently. How the Black Widow could do such a thing Daisy still hadn't figured out.

When Daisy was free again she told Laura; "nice to meet you too, even though I was previously unaware of your existence."

Laura smiled and ushered her guests further into the house. "Come in. Clint will take care of your bags."

When they entered the living room Daisy couldn't help but think of it as homey-and cosy. In the corner of the room was a big Christmas tree, it was decorated with a few of the usual balls and the rest was filled with decorations obviously created by children.

Natasha walked through the house as if it was her own, and Daisy started to wonder if maybe it was, every now and then. From the kitchen, Clint Barton appeared. "Well, well, well, Mary Sue," he spoke, shaking Daisy's hand. She could hear Natasha, who'd already made herself comfortable on the couch, grunt at her friends antics.

"Hawkeye," Daisy nodded. "And I don't go by that, thank you very much."

Clint grinned, "your file said that was your name, my apologies. Is it Skye now?"

Daisy opened her mouth and closed it again. From the corner of her eye she saw Natasha sink back in the couch a bit further. "You did not," Daisy spoke softly. From the couch Natasha groaned, "I specifically told you not to!" she called out.

Clint grinned and ruffled Natasha's hair, he explained; "I had to know who Tasha was getting involved with, didn't I?"

Laura swatted his head, "you didn't have to, Clint." The man grinned, clearly pleased with himself.

Meanwhile Natasha buried her head into the couch and mumbled; "this was a mistake, we shouldn't have come here."

Daisy watched the scene, it was quite amusing; It made her heart swell that Natasha took her to meet these people who were clearly important to her. However rude they may be. Clint Barton had read her file, if that wasn't a breach of privacy, she didn't know what was. Maybe, just maybe, that'd be a little hypocritical. "It's alright, Nat. I've read his too," Daisy admitted.

Clint's head shot up and his face couldn't be described anyway else than as shocked.

"Glad to know we're even." She added with a smile before bursting out in laughter with rest of the grownups in the room.

Clint shook his head with a smile on his own, and Daisy was glad that he didn't kick her out of his house immediately. Then Lila claimed Clint's attention, and Daisy was left standing in the living room. She considered joining either Natasha on the couch or Cooper with his toys. Which one would be least weird?

Laura Barton, however, had different plans-thankfully saving her from having to make that decision. "Daisy, could you give me hand in the kitchen please?"

She nodded, mostly because it would be rude to say no. "Sure I can."

This peaked Natasha's interest again from the couch, it made her lift her head again. "Laura, play nice. Please don't interrogate my girl to death."

Laura grinned, and ushered Daisy into the kitchen. There Daisy was handed a knife and a pineapple. "Cut it up in pieces, will you?" Daisy nodded again in response.

Daisy decided it might be best to start with a question of her own, before she would accidently bare her dark soul for this friendly mom. "How long have you known Natasha?"

Laura stirred in a few pans and thought about her answer. "For about eight years now, I guess. Clint took her to S.H.I.E.L.D., did you know that?" Laura waited until Daisy nodded and then continued with her story: "Fury wasn't really a fan, neither was I, to be honest. Clint was put in charge of her training and everything else so he couldn't leave her out of his sight, but he also wanted to spend Christmas with me. His perfect solution was bringing Natasha along. That was one weird holiday season." As Daisy struggled with her pineapple she listened intently, it was quite the story. And eleven years was a long time, somewhere it hurt that Natasha never told her about all these people in her life.

"Christmas brings people together, then," Daisy commented.

Laura laughed and shook her head. "Oh, not always, dear. It was terribly uncomfortable. And then Natasha moved on to be his partner. I wouldn't say I don't trust my husband, but a stunning woman like her running around with him, saving his life all the time. That took some getting used to. I was grateful she had his back of course, didn't mean I had to like her, did it." In spite of her words, Laura grinned. It was clear she was over whatever had been in the past between the two women. "But," Laura said, not so subtly changing the subject back to Daisy. "What the real question is here, how long have you known Natasha?"

Daisy shrugged, "I thought you'd heard so much about me? In the contrary to me, never heard a thing about all of you." Daisy didn't want to sound so bitter, really, it was okay. Laura picked up on it nevertheless. "That has nothing to do with you, you've met Clint right?" Daisy nodded. "Well, Natasha is the only one over at S.H.I.E.L.D. who knows about our existence. He wants to keep us safe, and Nat takes secrets like that very seriously." Daisy nodded again, slightly feeling bad for her bitterness earlier. "Thanks Laura, for letting me in on the secret, I guess. And making me feel welcome."

Laura just smiled in response. "Now tell me, about you and Nat," she continued her questioning with a mischievous smile.

Daisy focussed on her pineapple again, not sure what to say, or where to start. How they met was probably classified, or did rules like that not apply to Hawkeye's wife? "I think I love her," Daisy blurted out. Mistake. Abort mission. That was not at all what she had wanted to say. What was it about this Laura that made her feel so at ease? It wasn't like Daisy never told Natasha, but somehow this felt like a big deal.

Before Daisy got a chance to backtrack on her statement, Laura replied, "you picked one of the hard ones- to love, I mean. But I can promise you that in the end, it's all worth it." Daisy nodded. And as if Daisy didn't just bare her heart to her, Laura handed more fruit and a bowl. "You can't eat that part," Laura said, gesturing at the pineapple.

Just like that, they moved on, continuing on with their conversation. "How old are Lila and Cooper?" Daisy asks, moving on from her pineapple to the apples Laura laid out for her. "Lila is four, Cooper is seven and little Nathaniel upstairs is nine months old now," Laura answered while stirring in several pans. "Nathaniel was supposed to be Natasha, so now his nickname is mostly traitor," Laura smiles fondly. "You have a beautiful family," Daisy tells her.

"What exactly did Natasha tell you about me?" Daisy asked after a comfortable silence, no longer being able to contain her curiosity. Apparently Nat deemed her important enough to tell these people _all_ about her. "Oh, so much sweetheart. Tough year you had, Nat told me, and that you needed to learn how to love Christmas," Laura started. Then Daisy was handed a cup of tea and ushered into a chair. "That's all the help I'll need, thank you." Then the mother of three sat in a chair opposite of Daisy and started talking before the hacker could ask her to elaborate. "You disappeared for a bit, that's all the detail I know, and that I've never seen Nat more restless. Where did you go that you couldn't call?" Daisy sensed a little bit of blame in the last sentence, but Laura was right about where to put the blame. "China, somewhere in the mountains," Daisy answered, taking a sip from her mug and feeling the hot tea burn down her throat before she continued: "I found my mom, she wasn't the person I thought she would be." Laura nods, "I'm sorry to hear that." Daisy doesn't feel like crying anymore and that's lovely.

"Nat also told me you were great with computers, that you could bring down this house with a flick of your wrist, that you're a fighter, that I should keep my mouth shut about what she said about your gorgeous face and-" Laura's tale is cut off by Natasha herself, who wraps her arms around Daisy and rests her chin on Daisy's shoulder. "Keeping your mouth shut means not saying anything, Laura," Natasha commented. "And I haven't decided yet if I want you two comparing notes on me, so I came to interrupt and set the table," Natasha said casually, but Daisy noticed a glint of nervousness in her eyes and it was the most adorable thing Daisy had seen all day. Daisy squeezed Nat's hand as she got up and went to reach for the cabinets. She never had anything to worry about but she wanted to reassure nonetheless.

"Oh, and Cooper wants to show you his Legos but he didn't work up the nerve to ask you yet," Natasha told Daisy with a smile, after which Daisy got up and went to look for the little boy herself.

ooo

After dinner- which had been filled with pleasant chatter, delicious food, and so much warmth- Daisy sat out on the porch watching Natasha build a snowman with Lila and Cooper. Fiddling with her phone, she debated whether or not to take pictures of the adorable sight. The door creaked open as Clint stepped outside, silently he sat down next to Daisy. "You know if you hurt her, she'll kill you," Clint told her.

Daisy smiled softly as she slipped her phone back into her pocket-maybe she shouldn't have any photographic proof. "That's the weirdest big brother speech I've ever heard," she replied. To be honest, she had only heard those on TV, but those were details. She looked at him. "I'm sure you'll help her."

They sat in silence for a bit until Clint broke it. "Sure." He agreed with her. "Although, I hope I don't have to. You're good for her."

Daisy blinked one extra time, unsure of what to say to this. Thankfully, she didn't have to reply as Cooper interrupted the moment. He tugged on her hand, pulling her gently. "Come on! I need you on my team!"

Daisy got up willingly, glancing back at Clint, not sure what to say or how to express that it meant a lot- that she appreciated what he said.

Clint nodded, almost as if he could read her mind. She smiled at him before letting Cooper pull her away from him to assist with building the Snowman's body.

Apparently halfway the snowman-building with Natasha, Cooper had decided that it should be a contest.

ooo

Daisy didn't get a chance to properly talk to Natasha until after the snowman adventure, when Clint and Laura were upstairs putting their kids to bed. They sat together on the couch, hands wrapped around a mug of hot chocolate. Daisy rested her head on Nat's shoulder. "They are your family, aren't they?"

When Natasha didn't immediately reply, mostly because she never looked at it that way and had to think about her answer, Daisy continued: "thank you for letting me meet them." Natasha drank the last of her chocolate and wrapped her arms around her girlfriend. "You are my family too," she told Daisy softly.

Daisy pressed a kiss to Natasha's cheek and they sat in a blissful silence for a bit. Then Natasha spoke up again: "that's not only why I took you here. After everything that's happened this year, I thought we needed a little normal, that we deserved a little peace and quiet." Daisy smiled and nodded, agreeing with Nat.

"As quiet as these kids will ever be," Daisy mused. The little Barton rugrats didn't need much more than a few hours to take a place in her heart. "Did you ever want kids?" Daisy asked promptly.

"Children? I don't think that's physically possible, for more than one reason," Natasha responded almost instantly, looking at her directly.

"There's always adoption," Daisy replied, not missing a beat.

Natasha didn't immediately reply, seemingly hesitant on this, "I… I don't think anybody would want me as a parent, Daisy. I'm… They deserve better."

Daisy sat up a little straighter now too, these moments of Natasha's self … was something she'd never expected when she'd merely heard of the Black Widow. Now, she recognised them of Natasha's most open and vulnerable moments. Right now, she wanted to wrap the assassin up in a hug and never let go but she knew that wouldn't be appreciated right now. But she had a few things that she needed to say now. "Lila and Cooper adore you," Daisy reminded her softly. "And most of those kids are just glad that someone chose them. Especially the older kids. And that way, we wouldn't have to change diapers." There wasn't really a way to lighten the conversation now, and it wasn't that Daisy want to end their serious conversation. Maybe she just got a little nervous and wanted to break the tension.

"Daisy," Natasha sighed, closing her eyes. There was a slight shake of her head before she looked back at her, "I'm a spy and you work in a top secret government program-how are we going to be able to look after, let alone raise them. I doubt somebody with my past would even be allowed near them."

"That's ridiculous, you would never harm our kid. And all you did in the past, is just that, in the past. Sure, it makes you who you are but that's okay. I love who you are, they would love who you are," Daisy spoke. They were facing each other, both sitting crossed legged on the couch. Daisy rested her head at Natasha's shoulder again. "I'm not saying we should adopt a child right away, but we can think about it. And then maybe one day."

"Can't we just kidnap Lila or Cooper instead? And have Laura and Clint permanently look after them?" Natasha suggested, "But I'll consider it… Although, it would be nice to give a child who has nobody somebody who cares about them. They'd be really lucky to have you."

Daisy raised her hand to Natasha's cheek, and pressed a kiss against her lips. "They'd be lucky to have us," she whispered before kissing Natasha again.

That's how Laura and Clint found them when they returned downstairs, snuggled up on the couch. "Aren't you two adorable," Clint grinned. That nearly earned him a mug to the head from Natasha, it was probably in everyone's best interest that Daisy stopped her. "No making out on my couch," Clint continued to tease them.

"You make out on this couch," Natasha shot back. Clint shrugged, "fair point."

Before anyone could speak, little footsteps could be heard on the stairs. Laura and Clint exchanged a glance. In the door opening emerged Lila, a stuffed animal tucked under her arm. "I can't sleep," she mumbled, looking at the grown ups in the room.

"And why's that, sweetie? Did you try to?" Laura asked.

Lila nodded, in a way that you worry if their head might fall off. "Aunty Nat didn't read me a story," Lila told her mom. And then she took a few steps closer to the couch. "Can you read the bears again, aunty Nat?" Lila asked, already tugging on Natasha's arm.

"Case and point," Daisy mumbled as Natasha got up. Natasha playfully pushed Daisy back into the cushions and followed the little girl upstairs. Her eyes followed her girlfriend up the stairs.

"She does some great baby animal voices," Clint commented. Daisy looked up, knowing it was useless to avoid Clint's knowing smirk. "Not a show you can miss, really," Clint continued.

"Hm?" Daisy hummed, and innocent smile around her lips.

"Go, it's a lovely story," Laura added, smiling at Daisy. These two were so in sync.

Daisy didn't need to be told that twice, and she got up. Before stepping up the stairs she turned around and told the couple in the living room: "thank you, for everything."

"Not a problem," Laura answered. "You're welcome here anytime."

o0o

 **That's a wrap. I hope you liked it, please don't hesitate to let me know what you thought in the reviews.**

 **There is one other thing because this was sort of a testing the waters situation, I have endless ideas for this couple, will anyone read that?**


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